26 Jul 2018

The peace and security prevailing in Botswana have been described as key foreign direct investment components the country can use to attract United Arab Emirates (UAE) investors.

Presenting credentials to President Mokgweetsi Masisi on July 24, UAE ambassador Mr Mahash Alhameli Alhameli said Botswana had ‘great’ peace and security which investors were looking for.

He therefore said it would be ideal to explore business opportunities in the country.

Mr Alhameli said he was prepared to work with Botswana to improve the ease of doing business and foster solid trade relations between the two countries.

The ambassador said most UAE companies were willing to set up in Botswana but there was need to work on improving the business environment.

Mr Alhameli said efforts were underway to come up with different options of improving the business environment.

“We are working hard with your ministries and I am sure in the coming month you will see some of these companies,” he said.

He said a number of agreements had to be signed or concluded to give investors the confidence of investing in Botswana.

Further, the ambassador said there was need to identify areas of demand adding that the UAE would support Botswana in various sectors of the economy such as tourism marketing, education and technology.

He said time had come for the two countries to foster ties and forge forward.

For his part, President Masisi said he was impressed by UAE’s success and was looking forward to sharing experiences which would develop the country. ENDS